By Shirley Farmer 
Through April 25, 2024, BLITZ is publishing a list of 50 songs that paved the way for the freedom achieved 50 years ago. These are the songs that, during the “Estado Novo,” foreshadowed the change that occurred on April 25, 1974, and gave shape to a cultural revolution that long preceded the political revolution that ended the dictatorship. The texts are written by Luis Freitas Branco, author of “The Revolution Before the Revolution” (Ziguerati, 2024), to be published this month, a book that documents the way in which Portuguese popular music opened the doors to culture, society and humanity. Politician who raised April 25, 1974. Every day, this list will receive a new song.
18. “Time Accustomed” by José Afonso (1969)
In the final part of “Contos Velhos Rumos Novos,” José Afonso’s third album, he inhabits a strange body: “Já o Tempo se Habitua.” The condemnation of the poem is not immediate, as in other albums of the same album, be it “Qualquer Dia” or “Era de Noite e Levaram”. Zika brings together a collection of scattered and seemingly disjointed phrases – odorless roses, weeds, bewildered seagulls – that form an impressionistic portrait of an unspoiled land. The melody confuses more than it clarifies, a confusing, almost child-like harmony, the color of a marimba, and the voice rises in pitch until it falls out of tune. If “Os Vampiros” was a political awakening, then “Já o Tempo se Habitua” was the dawn of musical genius.